I really enjoyed A taste of sage, so this newest book from Yaffa S. Santos was high on my most anticipated reads list. Full of the her trademark magic and delicious food, this story features Larimar Cintrón, a Dominican American woman working a corporate job as a brand manager while also hiding the fact that she's a ciguapa - a mythical Dominican creature whose legs change during the full moon.

I was not expecting such a perfect #SpookySeason romance in this book! Torn between doing her job and helping to save a local bakery, Larimar has to learn to embrace her culture and identity and take a chance on love with the baker next door. Great on audio narrated by Diana Pou. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

A Touch of Moonlight by Yaffa S. Santos is a breath of fresh air for romance readers. Larimar who is a Ciguapa, a mythical creature of the Dominican Republic, meets Ray, a local bakery owner. They have difficulties like any other romance, but the coming together seems more authentic than the popular instant love. There is a big emphasis on family and being different in this novel. Several scenarios had me laughing. I was continually voting for Larimar and Ray to be together. Diana Pou is a great narrator choice for Larimar’s story. I recommend this audiobook to anyone who enjoys listening to fun, romantic, strong female stories.

Larimar is a hard working Dominican American who has a secret. She is a Ciguapa, a mythical creature of Dominican folklore with long straight hair and backward-facing feet. Ray, a baker who Larimar saw years ago at a concert is set up on a date with her. The story is cute but it seemed forced in places. I don’t understand the folklore so I am probably not the target audience for this book. The narration was great and tried to keep me interested but honestly I think it just wasn’t the book for me.

I appreciated the chance to listen to A Touch of Moonlight by Yaffa S. Santos, narrated by Diana Pou. This is fascinating plot, one filled with magical realism (hooray!), cultural folklore (always important), bakery settings (which I rather love), and an engaging fun romance story filled with potential. thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for the review copy.

I appreciated the narrator's style and voice acting, I think she reflected the tone and cultural aspects of the story really well. I also loved the cultural insights in this story, I did not know about the ciguapa before and appreciated how that was used to examine themes on fitting in/not fitting in and identity.

My one comment about this book, and it is a style thing for me, is that the writing/dialogue felt a bit choppy and overly descriptive/detailed in ways that didn't add to the narrative and slowed down the enjoyment of the audiobook.

I loved learning more about the legends of the ciguapa! I wanted a little more depth from the main character and the love interest but overall I really enjoyed this book!

I really wanted to love this book -- I was fascinated by the incorporation of the ciguapa myth, as well as the regular infusion of Dominican culture and life. However, I struggled a bit with getting engaged with the writing in the book. It was a little wordy and disconnected for me. I was bummed that this one wasn't for me.